Rope

Titusville police said a man suspected of trying to lure a girl into his truck Monday night had knives, rope and gloves in the vehicle. Police said a 13-year-old girl was walking near Canaveral Avenue and Pine Street about 7 p.m. when she was approached by a man driving a 2010 pickup truck. The man told the girl that "her mother had sent him to pick her up" and he demanded she get his truck, police said. The girl refused and told a nearby adult, who called 911. Titusville police said they found their suspect, identified as Kevin Scott Harper, 43, a few blocks away.

There's no advertising budget at Bob's River Place. After more than 40 years and multiple generations of fans, the homegrown swimming hole on the Suwannee River, an hour northwest of Gainesville, doesn't need it. "I do this just for the entertainment, for the fun," says Bob Hawkins, 80. He opened his sprawling backyard on 40 riverfront acres off County Road 340 four decades ago to neighborhood kids interested in swinging into the Suwannee on...

Robert W. and Patricia A. Rope, Orlando, announce the engagement of their daughter, Robin C., to Francisco R. Merkel, Winter Park, son of Salomon and Paulina Merkel. The wedding is planned for Nov. 30.

Earning your pro bull-riding chaps takes years of practice and more than a few bruises. But even city slickers can talk the talk with our roundup of PBR terminology. •Bullfighter : The assistants who distract the bull after riders are dismounted are called "bullfighters" on the PBR tour. No rodeo clowns here. •Bull rope : A rope that is strapped around the chest of the bull, with a bell tied to the bottom. Riders grip the rope at the top, and the weighted bell ensures that the rope will fall off once the ride is over.

The White House announced the nomination of Douglas Ginsburg at 2 o'clock Thursday afternoon. By 2:01 the lynch mob had begun to reassemble. Said Sen. Edward Kennedy: ''He's an ideological clone of Judge Robert Bork.''Kennedy's measured judgment of the Supreme Court nominee, understand, was pronounced before he had heard one word of testimony or spent even 10 seconds in research of any sort. It sufficed for him that Attorney General Ed Meese had recommended Ginsburg. Get the rope! Kennedy hungers for another hanging.

By Dewayne Bevil on Attractions and Theme Park Ranger, September 2, 2010

To tweak "La Nouba" requires more than a hop, skip and a jump. The Cirque du Soleil show at Downtown Disney's West End now sports a skipping-rope segment that involves two new Japanese artists as well as many troupe members — including trampoliners, trapeze artists and women who normally dangle high above the stage floor from red ribbons. Skippers Yusuke Funaki, 29, and Shoichi Kasuo, 24, arrived in Orlando in June to prepare for the new act, which was placed near the beginning of the show in July.

AT THE end of your workout rope? Maybe you should try a new one made by Flexion, a sports- fitness company in Nebraska. Flexion says it has redesigned the jump rope to offer an overall workout. While conventional jump ropes are made with hand grips parallel to the rope, Flexion's Aerope comes with weighted handles that are attached in a perpendicular fashion. The rope works off a pivot made of nylon, Teflon and a Fiberglas composite. The Teflon acts as a lubricant to reduce wear as the pivot moves on a shaft of steel within the grip.

KEY WEST -- The cinematographer of the The Blair Witch Project could not escape from a plane that crashed into the sea in August 2004 because he had tied himself to his seat with rope, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Neal Fredericks, 35, drowned as he was dragged down by the wreckage of the single-engine plane off the Dry Tortugas islands, according to an NTSB report released May 29. He was flying with others to get footage for the movie Cross Bones. Before taking off, Fredericks had the plane's cargo door removed to better film Fort Jefferson and the islands off Key West.

Almost 300 Boy Scouts and adult leaders from the Orlando area who tied knots for about five minutes Saturday may have broken a Guinness World Record. For the Little Econ District spring camporee at Camp La-No-Che near Paisley, the Scouts set out to break the world record for "longest rope chain made in five minutes." Using one of the most basic knots taught in Boy Scouting — the square knot — the Scouts had to tie 3-foot pieces of rope together to create a rope chain that would be longer than the current world record: 5,496 feet and 1 inch.

Two people were charged with kidnapping and other crimes after a woman was attacked and forced into the trunk of a vehicle in Marion County. Silas Deaton, 21, of Ocala, and Haley Kuttner, 20, of Dunnellon, and the 20-year-old victim were riding in car on a dirt road early Sunday. Then they pulled over to roll a marijuana cigarette, the Marion County Sheriff's Office said. Deaton attacked the woman, claiming she stole $50 and drugs, according to a report. "The victim said despite pleas that she did not steal anything, she was bound with rope, a knife was held to her throat, she was cut on the neck and forced into the trunk," the report said.

Life is good for Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao gave Timothy Bradley a major beatdown in Las Vegas late Saturday night, scoring a decisive unanimous decision to regain his welterweight world title and handing Bradley his first defeat while avenging a controversial loss two years ago. Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) also heard the cha-ching of big cheese, with a guarantee of $20 million plus a take on the pay-per-view profits. His net worth is estimated at $100 million. That's a long way from Pacquiao's first fight when he was 12. Pacquiao, a native of the Philippines, earned less than $1, and then gave the money to his mother to buy rice.

The Harris Chain Sail & Power Squadron will offer a safe-boating class at 8 a.m. March 15 at Millers Boating Center, 1661 N.W. 57 St., Ocala. A final exam will begin at 5 p.m. Topics include rules of the water, navigation, radio usage, safety equipment and more. The course is state-approved and required for those born after Jan. 1, 1988, to receive a Florida Boater Safety Education Card. Cost is $49, which includes a textbook, and $25 for each additional family member. Payment must be by check or cash; no credit cards.

The island of Puerto Rico was slammed with another economic tsunami this month when Standard and Poor's dropped its $70 billion of tax-free debt to "junk" status. While Puerto Rico can't file for bankruptcy, the U.S. territory can default. In an email interview with editorial writer Darryl E. Owens, Douglas Rivero, chair and assistant professor of political science at Bethune-Cookman University, discusses the implications for Puerto Rico of the downgrade and what it portends for Central Florida.

Cirque du Soleil's "La Nouba" celebrates its 15th anniversary at Walt Disney World later this month. Throughout December, we'll meet some of the colorful show's performers here at The Artistic Type blog. As an aerospace engineer, Yusuke Funaki helped develop small satellites and robot arms used on the International Space Station. Then in 2004, he decided to defy gravity himself - with a jump rope. The idea struck him while watching a performance of Cirque du Soleil's "Quidam" in his native Japan.

A Volusia County man accused of trying to meet an underage girl for sex this week had a loaded gun in his sport-utility vehicle, as well as a machete, duct tape and rope, an arrest report says. William Fahner, 54, of Ormond Beach responded to an online advertisement posted by an undercover officer posing a father soliciting men to teach his daughter to have sex. Fahner chatted with the officer online and eventually agreed to meet at a Wendy's restaurant at Williamson and LPGA boulevards on Thursday.

THE RECENT education articles and shame-on-the-schools editorials continue to soar to new heights of silliness as they conclude, ''School districts that don't throw failing students a rope aren't doing their jobs.''At the high school where I teach, we have many more programs and initiatives for struggling students than were ever imagined when I was a high-school student. Among others, there are programs for students with hearing and vision impairments, for students with various ''learning disabilities,'' for students who speak a language other than English and for students whose parents are migrant workers.

A 76-year-old Clermont man accused of beating his wife was jailed Friday after police found him with a vehicle full of firearms, ammunition, ropes and lanterns. Clermont police officers responded to a call Friday about 5 p.m. accusing David Sincere of beating his 76-year-old wife at a home on Lake Shore Drive, according to a police report. The woman had bruising on her face. Officers at the scene saw Sincere leaving the home, stopped him and found his sport utility vehicle loaded with weapons including seven rifles, ten handguns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

The Tribune on Friday reported a stunner: Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard has gotten sharply critical reviews from the Board of Education and could be fired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel . Within hours, Emanuel denied he was about to push his schools CEO out the door. "As soon as I heard about this, I called J.C. and said, 'you focus on the full school day, full school year,' Emanuel said Friday morning. 'You're doing a great job.'" So, what to make of this?